Trauma-informed Psychotherapy

Feeling stuck is one of the most common reasons people come to therapy. They wonder why they continue to find themselves in unsatisfying or even toxic relationships. The origins for the "stuckness" have roots in childhood trauma, which can range from the obvious, like an abusive parent to the subtle, such as a psychologically absent parent. Whether or not we are aware of it, we devised certain coping tools (aka defenses) to help us tolerate the situation.

In trauma-informed psychotherapy, we understand that most adult problems stem from unconsciously continuing to use these same tools that are now actually getting in the way of achieving what we really want. An oversimplified example is a person who grew up with a raging parent. In order for that child to survive, s/he would have to "turn off" that part of themselves that signals danger or else risk constant emotional overload. Now, as an adult, that person engages in unhealthy relationships because they never turned their danger signal back on.

Because I believe that we are all hard-wired towards healing and growth, one of my most important jobs is to help your mind and body recognize that it is now safe to get all your resources back on board. Once that happens, issues naturally begin to resolve.

I am usually able to give you a sense of how I would want to work with you after 1-2 sessions. That way, we can decide together whether we are on the same page.